James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963, Downey, California) is the main songwriter, rhythm guitarist, lead vocalist, and the table of Metallica, and co-founded the band with Lars Ulrich. Early Life James Hetfield was born from Virgil Hetfield (a truck driver) and Cynthia Hetfield (an opera singer). They were devout adherents to the Christian Science faith. At an early age he was surrounded by many kinds of musical things. His two older step-brothers played a variety of different instruments consisting of drums, guitar and piano. At first James tried the piano but as soon as he picked up an acoustic guitar, he was hooked. Hes said "When I was younger I had an acoustic guitar, a melody type thing, and I would hear Sabbath, and Aerosmith and those guys play so good but I just flailed up and down on the damn thing. I was always asking Why dont i sound like those guys yet!?! Hehe but I loved the instrument" He would also sneak his older step-brother's Black Sabbath records when he went to college and would get caught when he returned. He stated his main influence as Aerosmith, which inspired him to play guitar. Among other influences are Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Thin Lizzy, and Queen. When he was fifteen, his mother died of cancer and being of the Christian Science faith, they did not seek any medical help. In high school he formed his first band, Obsession, composed of the Veloz brothers on bass and drums, Jim Arnold on guitar, and Hetfield on lead vocals, the band spent alot of time in the Veloz brothers' garage jamming, with Ron McGovney and Dave Marrs acting as roadies. Marrs and McGovney subsequently joined the band itself when the Veloz brothers quit. After a few more bands like Phantom Lord and Leather Charm, Hetfield eventually needed another drummer. Danish drummer, Lars Ulrich, posted an ad in the local news paper looking for a band to jam with on NWoBHM songs. James, in his eagerness to get a band started, answered his ad. In Metallica (1983-Present) Early Years Metallica formed in October of 1981. James originally intended to focus on rythem guitar, but eventually changed to vocals when they couldn't find a suitable singer, and even played a few show as a singer only. James eventually settled on performing both duties. In 1983 the debut album of Metallica, Kill 'Em All, came out. In 1984 and 1986 came Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets respectively, on which James vocals continued to improved. After the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton James Hetfield decided to go on with Metallica and adopted Jason Newsted as new bassist. With Jason, the album ...And Justice For All came out, showing yet another lyrical increase of Hetfield. Mainstream Success and Pyro Incident In 1991 the Black Album was recorded, Metallica's landmark success. James however blew his voice out on the cover "So What!?" and needed to take vocal lessons to get his voice back on track. The huge tour from 1991 till 1994 had its influence on Hetfield: fans started to note that he couldn't sing as he used to. In 1992 in Montreal, Canada, during the performance of the song, "Fade to Black", James had stepped into the pyrotechnics, which gave him severe second and third degree burns on his body and singed his hair. Newsted recalls Hetfield's skin "bubbling like on The Toxic Avenger". John Marshall, the bands Guitar Technician, stepped in on rhythm guitar while James countinued to sing so that the tour wouldn't be cancelled. The Load albums, Garage Inc, and S&M In 1996 the "Alternative Metal" album Load (and in 1997 Reload) came out, in which Hetfield and the band cut their hair and adopted a more "Hard Rock" approach to music. The fans of the past were all over the place in terms of opinions - many hated this 'new' mainstream, hard rock-ish approach to the material. There were many on the other side of the spectrum, however. The two new albums had also brought in new audiences. Once again, fans noticed a strong change in Hetfields voice. They were really starting to notice that there were less of his hard hitting vocals on the two new Metallica albums. Metallica also released Garage Inc. - a compilation of cover versions that the band had recorded over the years, one of them being the song that Hetfield blew his voice out on; "So What!?". The last album Metallica released in the 90's was S&M, a live album with an orchestra added to some of Metallicas hit songs, along with two new songs written specifically for S&M; "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human" St. Anger and Death Magnetic In 2001, Jason Newsted left Metallica. After disputes with the band while making their eighth album, St. Anger, James went into rehab for "alcohol abuse and other undisclosed addictions". He was gone for roughly half a year. Nearing the end of 2001, he returned sober and clean to finish the album, although some band disputes still continued. James had agree they would work from 12 to 4 PM and return hope to spend time with his family, something in which Ulrich show displease. After the recording of the album, bassist Robert Trujillo was auditioned and was selected as full-time Metallica bassist. In 2008, Metallica released their "comeback" album Death Magnetic. James apparently drew inspiration from the death of Alice In Chains singer, Layne Staley, for some of the lyrics and themes in the album. In 2009 James Hetfield and Metallica were incorporated into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Equipment Guitars *Ken Lawrence Custom Explorer Natural *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Deerskull Inlay *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Snake Inlay *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Wood-Burn Deer *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Black Diamond Plate *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Silver Diamond Plate *ESP Custom Black Explorer - Bright Diamond Plate *ESP Custom Black Flying V - Green Flames *ESP Custom Black Flying V - Hot Rod Flames *ESP Custom Black "Fuel" Les Paul Style with Gold Pinstripe *ESP Custom Black & White Pinstripe Les Paul *ESP Custom Black & Gold Pinstripe Les Paul *ESP New Model Black Explorer - Mother-of-Pearl Inlay *Epiphone Flying V *Gibson Explorer *Gibson Explorer "MORE BEER" *White ESP Explorer "EET FUK" Amplifiers *Mesa Boogie 4x12 Speaker Cabinets *Wizard 4x12 Speaker Cabinets *4x Costumized Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis Pre-Amps *4x Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 Power Amps *Mesa Boogie Tremoverb 2x12 Combo Amp Discography Metallica *Kill 'Em All - 1983 *Ride The Lightning - 1984 *Master of Puppets - 1986 *...And Justice For All - 1988 *Metallica (The Black Album - 1991 *Load - 1996 *Reload - 1997 *St. Anger - 2003 *Death Magnetic - 2008 *Lulu - 2011 *Beyond Magnetic - 2011 Danzig *Danzig - 1988 (background vocals on "Twist of Cain" and "Possession") Corrosion Of Conformity *Wiseblood - 1996 (background vocals on "Man or Ash") Primus *Antipop - 1999 (guitar on "Eclectic Electric") External links * Metallica fandom history * Death Magnetic Lyrics * http://www.encycmet.com/equipment/jaymzeq.shtml Category:1992 Accident